Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. II, Part 7

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1166

USA > Georgia > Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. II > Part 7

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BENJAMIN HARVEY HILL.

Benjamin Harvey Hill, born in Walton county, and died in 1882, deserves a place among authors for the same reason that Junius has won a place among the literary men of England. Junius wrote letters for a newspaper which found their way later to the public in a book. This was the case with Mr. Hill's Notes on the Situation, a series of articles in many respects as notable as the Letters of Junius. Before the Notes were written their author had been prominent in public life for nearly twenty years. He had been a leader at the bar, an active politician and a Confederate senator. After the war, when Georgia was going through the various stages of reconstruction, the people were completely terrorized by Federal authority and bayonet rule. Many of the most influential citizens hesitated to express their views on the platform or in print, and a few white republicans and the negro voters were in a fair way to shape the policy of the state and control affairs indefinitely. At this critical time Mr. Hill wrote some fifteen or twenty letters for the Augusta "Chronicle," in which he clearly outlined the dan- gers then confronting the people, and pointed out the remedy. He urged organized and fearless action on the part of the democratic party, which contained the great

LITERATURE AND JOURNALISM.

mass of the whites, and encouraged his people to hope that a bold and determined fight for their constitutional rights would finally win. These stirring letters arraigned the Federal authorities and their allies in Georgia as usurpers and oppres- sors, and heaped upon them the most terrible denunciation and invective that the writer could command. The effect was immediate and far-reaching. Ex-Gov. Joseph E. Brown replied to the Notes, but he had espoused the unpopular side, and his utterances were not generally heeded. The name of Benjamin H. Hill became as familiar as a household word throughout Georgia and the south, and the young men, especially, hailed him as the leader sent to redeem the south from bondage. In a short time the whites of Georgia organized, and although the republicans succeeded in forming a new constitution, under which they elected a governor and a legislature, Mr. Hill's appeals and counsel reached every fireside in the com- monwealth, and the people were the first in the south to get rid of republican rule and the evils of reconstruction. The writings of Georgia's great tribune will always be admired for their pure English and their clear and forcible eloquence. His sentences are stately, and they have that peculiar swing which belongs to the style of a great speaker. Their frequent quotations from Milton show that Mr. Hill was a close reader of that master spirit of English literature, andit is noteworthy that these articles increase in their intensive form from first to last until the climax is reached. In these peaceful times they may impress some readers as being unnaturally strained and excited in their tone; but in an era of something like anarchy, when the people stood between the evils of military despotism and servile insurrection, it is easy to understand the tremendous effect which they produced upon the popular mind. Nothing in the political literature of Georgia, from the revolutionary period down to the present time, is in any way comparable to the Notes on the Situation. In after years Mr. Hill made numerous speeches on the hustings and in both houses of congress, which added to his fame as an orator and statesman, but nothing ever came from his pen that was equal to his letters in the reconstruction period. Such opportunities come only once in a life-time, and the man who masters them and is equal to the occasion cannot hope to repeat his achievement. Junius laid down his pen at the right time, and Benjamin Harvey Hill ceased to write when he found that he had accomplished his purpose. After that he reached the people in other ways and by other methods. He wrote no more letters and pamphlets, but his eloquence made itself felt in every corner of the republic, and in some of his greatest congressional efforts-as in his Andersonville speech, for instance-the Junius-like precision and force of his written style is apparent in every sentence. A political history of his times from the pen of this great southern leader would have been a valuable contribution to our literature; but in its absence, the biography of his father, with a collection of his speeches, by Benjamin H. Hill, jr., will be found to be a work of permanent interest and value.

ISAAC W. AVERY.

Isaac W. Avery belongs to the literature and journalism of Georgia, and his work has been so notable in both that it is difficult to assign him his place in a chapter which deals with literary men and newspaper writers. He was born in St. Augustine, Fla., in 1837, and it is said that his father could trace his an- cestry back in England as far as 1359. One writer has followed the family to King Alfred, and then to Egbert, the first Saxon king. The first Avery in Amer- ica came over in 1631, to the colony established by John Winthrop, the colonial governor of Massachusetts. The grandson of this pioneer married the grand- daughter of Winthrop, and from this couple the subject of this sketch is lineally

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

descended. One of the family signed the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independ- ence. Young Avery had the best educational advantages, and began the practice of law in 1860. The outbreak of the war interrupted his peaceful pursuits, and after taking part in the capture of Fort Pulaski he entered the Confederate army as a private and served until the close. He rose to the rank of captain, major, lieutenant-colonel, colonel and brigadier-general, and came out of the struggle a poor man. In two or three years he gave up the law and settled down in Atlanta as the managing editor of the "Constitution." Later he was one of Henry W. Grady's partners on the "Herald," and from 1877 until 1883 he served as secretary of the Georgia executive department under various governors. In 188I his History of Georgia was published. This work deals with the period between 1850 and 1880, and is notable for its full and complete narrative of Georgia's trials during the war and the reconstruction periods. He has held the office of chief of the public debt division in the United States treasury department, and has de- clined other high government positions. He was the associate editor for Georgia of the National Cyclopedia of American Biography, and in 1895 was the com- missioner of the Cotton States and International exposition to Mexico, Central and South America, where his mission was remarkably successful. Gen. Avery is one of the most brilliant writers in Georgia. He is a man of culture and travel; observation and favorable opportunities have aided greatly in the development of his natural gifts. While his History of Georgia is only a fragment it is one of the most valuable contributions ever made to the historical literature of the state.

JAMES W. LEE, D. D.

James W. Lee, D. D., born in 1849, and educated at the university of Georgia, is an example of what may be accomplished by a bright intellect under the most adverse circumstances. He was a poor country boy, but after he had worked his way through college and had entered the Methodist ministry, his native talent and painstaking application began to make an impression upon the public. His essays and lectures were very popular in all sections and in the course of a few years he won for himself a prominent place as a writer and as a lecturer. In 1893 his book entitled, The Making of a Man, made its appearance, and from the first it was one of the most popular religious works ever issued in America. It passed through edition after edition in all civilized lands, and even in Japan it is a favorite book with the native Christians. Dr. Lee was called from Atlanta to a church in St. Louis in 1893, but since that time he has made a tour through the holy land with the Rev. Dr. Vincent, and the record of his trip, issued in a series of illustrated parts, is meeting with a very large sale. The doctor's style is exceptionally clear and vigorous. He is a hard student and a close observer, and his friends look for even better and more enduring work from his pen.

WILLIAM T. THOMPSON.

William T. Thompson, born in Ohio in 1812, and died in Savannah in 1882, was one of Georgia's earliest and most popular litterateurs. While con- tributing to the old "Madison Miscellany" and various other papers he found time to write numerous stories and sketches. His farce, The Live Indian, held the stage for many years, but he failed to secure its copyright and never made any money out of it for himself. He was equally unfortunate in regard to Major Jones' Courtship. This story is a broadly-humorous description of life among the country people in north Georgia, and for many years it had a large sale all

LITERATURE AND JOURNALISM.

over the country, but especially in the south and west. It was published by the Petersons of Philadelphia, and the same firm also handled the author's other books, Major Jones' Travels and The Chronicles of Pineville. With the proper business management Mr. Thompson would have made a modest fortune out of his writings, but his fate was that of many other American literary men-to toil for others without any adequate reward. As a humorist and a portrayer of rural life and manners he had no superior in his generation. He did for the south what Halliburton did for New England, and forty years ago liis books were to be seen in almost every house and on every news-counter south of the Potomac. But while Mr. Thompson lived among us and was an active figure in journalism and politics until 1882, he is more of a tradition than anything else to the present generation of Georgians. He is talked about, but not read, and some of his books are probably out of print. He seems to have shared the fate of a group of his contemporary writers whose works had a large circulation in their day. When Major Jones' Courtship was at the height of its popularity the people were read- ing Doestick's funny productions, The Humors of Falconbridge, Simon Suggs, The Big Bear of Arkansas, Sam Slick, and a dozen other volumes of a similar character, including of course, Longstreet's Georgia Scenes. Just what caused them to lose their hold upon the public it would be difficult to explain, but the outbreak of the war turned the attention of men to more serious matters, and during the conflict the tone of our literature and journalism underwent a great change. Many of the old writers were no longer in touch with the public and failed to adjust themselves to the new conditions and the new demands of the time. Mr. Thompson in the prime of life disappeared from the literary stage and confined his work to journalism. He was still capable of producing even better stories than those which had captured the country before the war, but he resented the fickle tastes of the public and was unwilling to write books that would be neglected and forgotten in the course of a few years. Yet he never became em- bittered. He was neither a pessimist nor a cynic, but a broad-minded, healthy optimist of a gentle nature and disposed to accept without a murmur all the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune."

HENRY CLAY FAIRMAN.

Henry Clay Fairman, the editor of "The Sunny South," published in At- lanta, is a native of Mississippi, where he was born in 1849. His stories and poems are very popular in the south, but he is perhaps best known by a long serial story entitled, The Third World. Mr. Fairman in this novel shows the originality, the daring imagination and the graphic descriptive power of Jules Verne and Rider Haggard. The hero of his story is an Arctic explorer who accidentally wanders into a strange and unknown country near the north pole. He finds a race of highly civilized people, and after learning their language and adopting their customs he has the misfortune to excite the bitter enmity of a powerful noble who is in love with a maiden, in whoin the stranger is deeply interested. The plot is intricate and full of surprises, but it ends happily with the flight of the hero to his own country, accompanied by the maiden, who has been rescued from the clutches of the wicked nobleman. While Mr. Fairman's descrip- tion of the people and customs of the wonderful land near the pole is full of remarkable surprises, his story has the air of a matter-of-fact narrative, and if the reader can accept certain startling geographical statements he can easily go on to the end of the story without resenting its improbable features. The author has shown so much genuine power in The Third World that his thousands of

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

readers are clamoring for its publication in book form, and it will probably appear in that shape at an early day.

HENRY D. CAPERS.

Henry D. Capers, a native of South Carolina, where he was born in 1830, has resided more than half his life in Georgia. He has made a reputation as a lawyer, literary man and educator, and is recognized as a man of brilliant and versatile talents. He is the author of Bellevue and one or two other novels, all of which show genius and culture, but for some unknown reason they have never had a large circulation. His Life of Memminger gives a complete history of the operations of the Confederate treasury department during the war, and is one of the most unique and interesting books that have yet been added to our war literature. The author was peculiarly equipped for the writing of this work, hav- ing been the chief clerk of the Confederate treasury during the four years of its existence.

HENRY W. HILLIARD.

Henry W. Hilliard, born in North Carolina in 1808, and died in Atlanta in 1892, wrote De Vere and Politics and Pen-Pictures. The former is a novel of southern life in ante-bellum days and deals with the bright side of the society and the institutions of the old south. It is written in an attractive style, but lacks the deft touch of the professional story-writer. Mr. Hilliard was more successful with his second book, which contains a record of his adventures and experience in a notable public career of half a century. He was United States minister at various times to Belgium and Brazil. During the war he commanded Hilliard's legion in the Confederate service. He was in congress before the war, and dur- ing his residence in Alabama he was the great rival of William L. Yancey. He was active for more than fifty years in politics, journalism and literature, and was a prominent figure at the bar and in the pulpit. A volume of his addresses pub- lished nearly forty years ago contains a number of speeches which are models of eloquence and style. Mr. Hilliard had an extensive acquaintance with the crowned heads, the artistocracy and the leading writers and scientists of Europe, and while in Brazil he was the intimate friend of Dom Pedro. If his time had not been given to so many pursuits he would have left an enduring name in the lit- erature of his country.

OTHER WRITERS.

There are scores of writers in Georgia who have never come very prominently before the public because they have never pursued literature as a profession. In 1859 A. B. Seals, of Atlanta, wrote a novel entitled Rockford, which had a good circulation in the south. It bore the marks of genius, but it was the first effort of an unknown man, and the exciting period of secession caused it to be speedily forgotten. Contemporaneous with it was a novel by James Summerfield Slaugh- ter, another Atlanta writer, entitled Madeline. It was a sensational story, but there were signs of promise in it, and the subsequent suicide of its author was sincerely regretted. While dealing with Atlanta litterateurs it will be convenient to group most of them, with the exception of a few, in this part of our chapter. Miss Leonora Beck is considered by many the foremost literary woman in Atlanta. She is the principal of a young ladies' college, and is fully equipped for her work, but her passion for literature has led her to enrich the magazines with some very strong and attractive work, and when her recent book, Star Heights, made its appearance it was favorably reviewed by many of the leading news-

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papers of the country. Her My Valentine and A Night's Rebellion placed her among the poets. They show the genuine poetic inspiration with the added touch of culture. Her articles on Browning and other contributions to the periodicals have been very favorably received. Miss Minnie Quinn is a young poet and story writer who has deservedly won a high place in the circles of thought and culture. Miss. Quinn, when a young girl, attracted the attention of Paul H. Hayne, and became, so to speak, his protege, and Henry W. Longfellow was so well pleased with her early efforts that he encouraged her to persevere. Her two volumes, Violets and Apple Blossoms, published in her girlhood, met with a very gratifying success. Orelia Key Bell is another Atlanta poet who has found her way into the "Century" and the other magazines. It is said that her poetry stimulates the head rather than the heart, but Miss Bell strikes many notes. Some of her sonnets are perfect gems. Mrs. J. K. Ohl, otherwise known as "Maude Andrews," who has been mentioned elsewhere as a writer for the daily news- papers, should not have her literary personality entirely merged into the daily press. Her contributions to the "Century," "Cosmopolitan," "American Popular Monthly" and other periodicals show that her work is in demand in our great centers of literary enterprise. She has a wonderful knowledge of human nature and a picturesque and deft touch when she portrays it. Many of her productions in verse and prose will outlive her anticipations. Montgomery M. Folsom writes splendid dialect verse, and in his prose sketches he depicts cracker life perfectly. His book, Scraps of Southern Song, was very popular. Orth Harper Stein has been noticed among the journalists, but he is really entitled to a high place among the literary men of the period. Mr. Stein has for many years been a contributor to many leading periodicals. For some years he has been quite a prominent figure in literature. Robert L. Adamson, of the "Atlanta Constitu- tion," should have a more prominent mention than he receives here. His short stories have been widely copied, and have been very popular. His sketches show a knowledge of life and human nature entirely unusual, and the avidity with which the periodicals reproduce them is convincing evidence of their popularity. The sketch of Mr. Adamson in a recent magazine speaks of him as the most prominent young story writer in the city, and says that he has already achieved success enough to make him envied by older writers. He is certain to be heard from in the literary world. Lucian Lamar Knight has been pronounced the most brilliant young writer in the south by an eminent jurist, and it is safe to say that his biographical and historical sketches give promise of much valuable work of an enduring character. He is a lawyer as well as a journalist and a poet, and no young man in the state has equaled him in oratory. Mrs. Mel R. Colquitt is a popular contributor to many magazines and newspapers. She has a bright, pictur- esque style, and her broad sympathy with everything human shows itself in every- thing that she has written and invests even cold type with a peculiar magnetism. Her poems, sketches and short stories are among the best that the south has furnished in many years. Miss Irene Farrar, whose death in her youth cut short a career of brilliant promise, wrote two novels which were very popular, and if she had lived her work would have been eagerly sought by the publishers. She was a young lady of thorough culture and distinctive originality, and her writings attracted favorable attention from the first. Mrs. William Geppert, formerly Miss Dollie Higbee, of Louisville, made a reputation when she wrote that dashing story of Kentucky life, In God's Own Country, and since then she has produced other stories that will live. Julian Harris, a young man who has barely attained his majority, inherits much of the talent of his father, Joel Chandler Harris. He has written many short stories, which have gone the rounds of the press with

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

every possible evidence of popularity. At present young Harris confines most of his work to the routine of daily journalism, but he is studious and observant, and in the near future he is certain to make his mark. Francis Fontaine, the author of Etowah and other novels, is a writer of exceptional talent, and some of the leading newspapers of the country have devoted considerable space to their reviews of his books, but he is a very busy man and only his spare moments are given to his literary recreations. Mr. Fontaine is actively engaged in developing the material resources of Georgia, and this fact accounts for his failure to satisfy the demand for something more from his pen. Clio and Wenona, two recent novels by Miss Ella Powell, are full of promise, and the reading public will eagerly demand more from a writer whose early work is so strong, pure and graphic. Henry King Shackleford is an Atlanta writer with a remarkable career. After the war he was on the city staff of "The Intelligencer," but he found the work uncon- genial and went into business for himself. He was not successful, and in sheer desperation sent a short novel to Beadle & Co. in New York. It was accepted, and a check was promptly sent with a request for another story. The firm desired sensational Indian stories, and Shackleford wrote novel after novel in which he caused our Indian population to be recklessly slaughtered by his heroes. The demand for his writings was so great that he found it convenient to move to Brooklyn, where he could be in touch with his publishers. He obtained other work of the same character, and for several years has turned out one or two novels a nionth over various pen nanies. The Hon. William L. Scruggs, who has been prominently mentioned among the leading journalists of Georgia, is widely known through his contributions to nunierous magazines and reviews. His pro- ductions are generally of a political character, or descriptive of South America, where he has spent nearly twenty years as United States ininister to the United States of Colombia and the republic of Venezuela. Mr. Scruggs is a thoughtful and scholarly writer, and whenever anything from his pen appears in print it always challenges attention. Few men are so well equipped for literature of the substantial class, and his friends confidently expect to see from his pen one or more works dealing with South American subjects that will be of permanent interest and value. Mrs. Maria Jordan Westmoreland wrote Heart Hungry, Clifford Troup, and other novels, which were favorably passed upon by the popular verdict. Her books displayed great power and originality, and from the first bore every mark of professional authorship with no traces of amateur writing. She gave up novel writing some years ago, but it was not because of any lack of appreciation on the part of her readers. The late Mrs. Edward Hammond will long be remembered as the author of The Georgians and other novels. Her creative genius and attractive style invested her stories with a delightful charm. A. R. Watson, the poet, left no book behind him, but this is due to a peculiar misfortune. After his death in 1876 his poems were collected and turned over to Mr. Joel Chandler Harris to be edited with a suitable preface. Mr. Harris left the scrap book on his desk in "The Constitution" office for a short time one day when he was called out, and upon his return it was missing. Advertisements and appeals for its return were made in vain. Some person had carried off the scrap book with the determination that it should never again see the light. This unfortunate incident deprived the public of a book that was in great demand, and Watson's family, of course, suffered pecuniarily by the robber's conduct. During the war period Atlanta was a literary center. Watson was then at his best. Henry Watterson, later of "The Louisville Courier-Journal," was here. Alex. St. Clair Abram had published his History of the Siege of Vicksburg, and L. Q. C. Lamar and other able writers were giving their best work to the press. The

LITERATURE AND JOURNALISM.

Franklin Printing house published a Confederate geography, primer and spelling book-works which would afford very remarkable reading for these days.

Among Atlanta's law writers should be mentioned John L. Hopkins, John C. Reed, Henry Jackson, and Howard Van Epps. The digests and text books prepared by these distinguished lawyers will always be highly prized by the bench and bar of Georgia. Gen. James Longstreet, the famous Confederate commander, has in the hands of his publishers a book of war history which will be of exceptional value. The general's first manuscript of his work was destroyed by fire. At the end of a year or two he yielded to repeated requests and painfully rewrote the history. It was then edited by Mr. P. J. Moran, a talented Atlanta journalist, and will probably make its appearance in the course of a few months. Gen. Long- street's prominence, and the well-known respect entertained for his military ability, in Europe as well as at home, will cause the work to be looked for with a good deal of expectant interest. It will reply to the general's critics, and the chapter on Gettysburg is said to be a very important paper. Mr. Charles N. West, of the Savannah bar, occasionally turns aside from the routine of his profession and contributes something to the historical and bio- graphical literature of the state. Besides several other notable productions, his essay on William H. Crawford will long be prized as a valuable chapter of Georgia's annals. Georgia history has been too much neglected. Gov. Gilmer's remarkable work is now sought for as a literary curiosity, but while it contained much valuable biographical information, it has never been regarded as a history. Gen. Avery's History of Georgia is admirable as a fragment, but it does not pretend to cover the entire field. The works of McCall, Stevens, and Jones are also frag- ments. The Statistics of Georgia, and The Historical Collections of Georgia, by George G. White, are works of permanent value, but they furnish abundant material and data for future historians, instead of telling the story of the rise and progress of the commonwealth. Rev. Mr. Herbert, in 1779, wrote the Historical Account of the Progress of the Colonies of South Carolina and Georgia. Another state history is the work of T. S. Arthur and H. H. Carpenter. The Bench and Bar of Georgia, by Stephen F. Miller, is a perfect mine of information in regard to the leading men of the state. Herbert Fielder wrote a Life of Joseph E. Brown, which deserves a place in every library in the state, and the same should be said of John- ston's Life of Stephens, Stovall's Life of Toombs, and B. H. Hill's Life, by his son, B. H. Hill, jr. The Miscellanies of Georgia, by A. H. Chappell; Reminiscences of An Old Georgia Lawyer, by Garrett Andrews, and Reminiscences of Fifty Years, by William H. Sparks, are all works of considerable interest and power. E. Y. Clarke wrote a popular History of Atlanta, which is still in demand. J. D. Waddell's Life of Linton Stephens is justly regarded as a great work, and it is to be hoped that ex-Gov. Wilson Lumpkins' manuscript state history will some day be published. Prof. J. T. Derry is the Author of a School History of Georgia and a popular History of the Confederate States. The late Dr. F. O. Ticknor, of Columbus, was as rare and brilliant a poetic genius as ever flourished in any state in the Union. He wrote hastily and carelessly, without revision, and his poems were never published in book form until after his death, but for many years they have been going the rounds of the press, and his Little Griffin of Tennessee, has taken its place among the most popular poems of this generation. Ticknor needed the excitement of the war period to inspire his stirring lyrics, and when peace came he almost entirely ceased to write. If he had been at all careful of his fame, he would now rank among the foremost poets of America. But he always regarded his verses as the vagrant offspring of the moment, and the idea never occurred to him that they would be treasured by others. Autumn Dreams, by Mrs. E. B. Castlen,

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Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. II, Part 7

Author: Publication date: 1859 Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association Number of Pages: 1166

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1166